Abstract Future missions are planned by NASA to investigate the structure and evolution of the universe, and search for the origins of galaxies, stars, planets, and life. These missions include the Terrestrial Planet Finder, Constellation-X, and the Next Generation Space Telescope. A critical need for these missions is the capability to reliably cool detectors and associated components to temperatures around 6 K for space missions of five to ten years. Turbomachinebased, reverse-Brayton cycle (or turbo-Brayton) cryocoolers are ideal candidates to provide this cooling because they are essentially vibration-free, have high reliability, long life, low mass, and high efficiency. Developments are in process at Creare to: (1) reduce the size of the components to attain high efficiency and low mass at the temperatures and power levels needed for these applications, (2) demonstrate the performance of these advanced components, and (3) demonstrate the performance and operational features at the system-level. This paper discusses the current status of these development efforts. In particular, the paper reviews the development of an advanced low temperature expansion turbine; a compact, lightweight recuperative heat exchanger; and compressors for this system. The results of a system-level performance test of a 2-stage turbo-Brayton cryocooler at temperatures at and below 20 K are also presented.
Development of a Turbo-Brayton Cooler for 6 K Space Applications
Cryocoolers 12 ; 571-578
2003-01-01
8 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
Development of a Turbo-Brayton Cooler for 6 K Space Applications
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